Means for preventing the spreading of rails.



No. 731,512.. 7 PATENTED JUNE 23, 1903.

M. MEANS FOR PREVENTING" THE SPREADING 0F RAILS.

APPLICATION rum) MAY '1. 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1-.

F0 MODEL.

PATENTED JUNE 23', 1903.

M, SELLERS. MEANS FOR PREVENTING THE SPEEADING 0F RAILS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7.1902.

2 SHEETS-SHE 2.

N0 MODEL.

No. 731,51 a

Patented June as, 1903 .ATENT Urrrcn.

MORRIS SELLERS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MEANS FOR PREVENTING TllE. SPREADING OF RAILS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 731,5 12, dated June23,- 1903. Application filed May 7, 1902. Serial No. 106,286. (Nomodel.)

To (ti/Z whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MORRIS SELLERS, a cit izen of the UnitedStates,residing at Ohicago,in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,have invented certain new and useful Improve merits in Means forPreventing the Spreading of Rails, of which the following is aspecification.

The primary object of my device is to furnish means for. preventing thespreading of rails by engaging the outer sides of the rails and securingthem together.

A further object of my invention is to provide such a device which shallalso provide a metal wearing-surface for a wooden tie or sleeper.

Another object of my invention is to provide such a device which shallbe especially adapted for use on curves and in like situa-' tions, whereit will not only serve to prevent the spreading of the rails in themanner above mentioned, but shall also provide an effective rail-bracefor the outer rail.

A further object of my device is to provide a simple, inexpensive, andeffective railbrace. I These and such other objects as may hereinafterappear are attained by the devices shown in the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a railwaytie fitted with oneform of my device, part of the tie being broken away. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal section through my device. Fig. 3 is a crosssectional viewon the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction indicated by thearrows as shown in Fig. 1, showing the same applied to a railroad-track,the rails being shown in cross-section. Fig. 4 shows my device modifiedso as to serve also as a rail'brace. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of mydevice as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a blank fromwhich my device is made. a i 1 Like letters of reference indicate thesame parts in the several figures of the drawings.

In its simplest formmy device consists of a Web A of sufficient lengthto extend lengthwise of a tie from the outer side of one rail to theouter side of the opposite rail. The web A is provided on its under sidewith attaching means B, preferably in the form of adownwardly-projecting longitudinal rib provided with a sharp edge,whereby it may readily be driven into the upper surface of a tie. At theopposite ends of the web A a portion 0 is bent over upon the uppersurface of the web A, so as to provide an offset or shoulder D at eachend of the web. These bent-over portions are so gaged with relation toeach other that the opposite shoulders D shall engage the outer edges ofthe flanges of the rails.

Preferably my device is provided with spike-holes E, extending throughthe bentover portions 0 and the web 13, so that spikes may be used asadditional means for securing my devicein place.

The modified form of my device shown in Figs. 4 and 5 may be formed froma T-shaped blank, such as is shown in Fig. 6. The depending stem or ribof this blank may then be cut through to the web, as at 1 1, adjacent tothe opposite ends of the blank. The opposite ends of the blank are thenbent over, as in Figs. 1 and 2, except that the bent-over portions 0 arecontinued into the bracing ends F, which extend upwardly from and at anangle to the ends 0, so as to engage the under side of the head of therail, as shown in Fig. 4, the ribs 6 stiifening the bracingsections Fand also engaging the under side of the head of the rail.

By the construction above described I have produced'a very simple butexceedingly effective device for accomplishing the objects previouslyrecited. Not only is each rail held in place by the usual spikes whichare used to attach my device to the tie but any tendency to spreadeither rail is also opposed,

first, by the spikes used to secure the opposite end of my device;secondly, by the opposite rail itself; thirdly, by the means used toattach the rail to adjacent ties, and, finally, it by any possibilityall of theseopposing forces are overcome and either rail is spreadoutwardly I still succeed in maintaining the gage of the track, becauseany outward movement of either rail must necessarily cause acorrespondingly equal movement in the direction of the opposite rail.

Further, my device not only serves all the purposes of a tie-plate, butas it may easily be constructed so as to provide a metal facing orveneering for the whole upper surface IOU of a wooden tie it enables theutilization of wooden ties in such a manner as to approximate to metalties in durability and effectiveness, but at a much less expense.

Considered as a rail-brace I have succeeded in producing an effective,inexpensive, and yet rigid brace out of comparatively light material,and I not only succeed in utilizing the opposite rail and the meanswhereby it is secured in place to oppose the displacement of myrail-brace, but by reason of the fact that my rail-brace comprises a webwhich extends under and inwardly beyond the rail, which is bracedthereby. It is also held against displacement by the rail which itbraces, by the spikes which secure said rail to the tie at its innerside, and by the means which are used to secure said rail to theadjacent sides.

Obviously when it is desired to use my device simply asa rail-brace itis entirely practical to disregard the means by which I connect therails together and to simply use so much of one end of my device, asshown in Fig. 3, as shall comprise the rail-brace section and so much ofthe Web as extends under the rail which is to bebraced and slightlybeyond the inner spike hole, as shown in Fig. 6. I

In forming my rail-brace in the manner described the bending of therail-brace portion in an upward direction necessarily results in theupsetting and consequent thickening of the metal forming the rib of therail-brace portion at the point where the upwardly-extending part of thedevice departs from the horizontally-extending part of the bent-overportion. This practically results in reinforcing the rail-brace at thispoint, which would otherwise be a point of weakness, and results inproducing a rail-brace which is exceedingly rigid and strong inproportion'to its area in cross-section.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. A device of the class described, comprising a metallic Web arrangedto extend along the upper face of a tie from the outer side of one railto the outer side of the opposite rail,

integral means upon the under face of said web adapted to be embedded inthe tie, said Web being forced over upon itself at its opposite ends soas to form shoulders arranged to engage the outer edges of the flangesof the opposite rails, substantially as described.

2. A device to prevent the spreading of rails, comprising a metallic webarranged to extend beneath a pair of adjacent rails, and from the outerside of one rail to the outer side of the other, said web being providedwith integral means for attaching it to the tie, and being provided atits opposite ends with integral sections forced over upon the uppersurface of said web so as to form shoulders arranged to engage a portionof the outer sides of each rail when set at the gage, substantially asdescribed.

3. A device of the class described, comprising oppositely-disposed meansfor closely engaging the outer faces of a pair of adjacent rails, ametallic web arranged to extend beneath said rails and to connect saidrail-engaging means, and integral means for attaching said device to atie, substantially as described.

4. A device of the class described, comprising a web adapted to beattached to the upper face of a tie and provided at its opposite endswith means for engaging a pair of adjacent rails at the outer sidesthereof and integral means for attaching said device to a tie,substantially as described.

5. A device of the class described, comprising a web arranged to extendalong the upper face of a tie and provided at its opposite ends withmeans for engaging a pair of rails at the outer faces thereof, saidmeansbeing formed by folding a portion of said web back upon itself at apoint adjacent to its ends and integral means for attaching said deviceto a tie, substantially as described.

6. A device of the class described, comprising a web provided on itsunder surface with means for attachment to the upper surface of a tie, aportion of said web adjacent to each end thereof being folded back uponthe upper surface of the web to form means for engaging a pair ofadjacent rails at the outer sides thereof, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

7. A device of the class described, comprising a metallic plate arrangedto extendlengthwise of the upper face of a tie, provided 011 its undersurface with an attaching-stem arranged to be driven into the tie, andprovided adjacent to its opposite ends with means for engaging the outersurfaces of a pair of adjacent rails, said means being formed by foldinga portion of said plate back upon the upper face of said plate adjacentto each end thereof, substantially as described.

8. A device of the class described, comprising a metallic plate providedwith integral means for attachment to a tie, said plate having a portionadjacent to one end thereof bent over upon the upper surface of saidplate and thence extending upwardly to form a rail-brace for one of apair of adjacent rails, and said plate having a portion thereof adjacentto its opposite end folded back upon the upper face of said plate, so asto form means for engaging the outer surface of the opposite rail,substantially as described.

9. A device of the class described, comprising a metallic plate providedwith integral means for attachment to a tie, said plate having a portionadjacent to one end thereof bent over upon the upper surface of saidplate and thence extending upwardly to form a railbrace for one of apair of adjacent rails, said rail-brace portion being provided with acentral rib arranged to extend to and engage the head of the rail, andsaid plate having a portion thereof adjacent to its opposite end foldedback upon the upper face of said plate, so as to form means for engagingthe outer surface of the opposite rail, substantially as described. r

10. A combined tie-plate and rail-brace comprising a tie-plate havingone end thereof bent over upon and parallel with itself, and thenceextending diagonally upward to engage the head of a rail said tie-platebeing provided on its under side with an integral rib for attaching itto the tie, substantially as and for the purpose described.

11. A combined tie-plate and rail-brace, comprising a tie-plateseparable from a tie having a portion thereof bent upward and backwardso as to engage the outer surface of a rail resting upon the tie-plateproper, said bent-over portion being provided upon its upper surfacewith a rib arranged to engage the head of such rail, substantially asdescribed.

12. A combined tieplate and rail-brace comprising a Web having a flatportion thereof adapted to rest upon the upper surface of a tie to forma tie-plate, and provided with means for attachment to a tie, and havinganother portion thereof folded over upon itself and thence extending inan upward direction to form a rail-brace, said rail-brace portion beingprovided upon its outer face witha rib extending in a direction toengage the head of a rail resting upon said tie-plate portion,substantially as described.

MORRIS SELLERS.

Witnesses:

M. E. SHIELDS, O. R. BARNETT.

